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enLet the Games Begin!: Learning Science Through Gameplayhttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/let-games-begin-learning-science-through-gameplay
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img class="imgRight" src="/sites/default/files/images/ll_screenshot_2.jpg" border="0" alt="“Lure of the Labyrinth” teaches pre-algebra concepts through a series of puzzles (and they meet a few monsters along the way!)" width="230" height="165" style="float: right;" />Imagine telling your child to “turn off that computer game and go finish your homework.” Then imagine your surprise as he replies, “But this is my homework.” You might think he’s trying to pull a fast one – a computer game as homework? What kind of teacher would assign that? Well, actually, a math or science teacher would. Okay, but why? We asked that question to Eric Kopfler, Director of the <a href="http://education.mit.edu/" target="_blank">MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program</a> (MIT STEP) and the Director of <a href="http://www.educationarcade.org/" target="_blank">The Education Arcade</a> (TEA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “There are a lot of reasons why interactive media, such as computer and video games, work well for learning,” he said. “Games provide a certain sense of feedback and goal-setting. That structure gives students the flexibility to have some choice and not feel like a typical school lab where they follow a cookbook step by step.” </p>
<p><img class="imgRight imgLeft" src="/sites/default/files/images/ll_screenshot_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Players in “Lure of the Labyrinth” journey into a strange world to rescue their kidnapped pets. To date, over 8 million pets have been rescued." width="230" height="165" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 4px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 12px; float: right; border-width: 0px;" />Computer games and simulations sounds like a great medium to get kids actively involved in science (it’s even been the focus of an NRC report, <a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13078" target="_blank">Learning Science Through Computer Games and Simulation!</a>), which is why the MIT STEP program and TEA work together to build computer and video games as part of classroom curriculum. Games such as “<a href="http://labyrinth.thinkport.org/www/" target="_blank">Lure of the Labyrinth</a>” are used by teachers to teach core concepts. In “Lure of the Labyrinth,” students learn pre-algebra concepts like variables, equations, and proportions by exploring a strange world in search of a missing pet. But students don’t learn the concepts by working out equations on the screen. “In [‘Lure of the Labyrinth’], you’ll never see a math equation on the screen. But you’ll see the concepts on those mathematical equations,” explained Kopfler. In “Lure of the Labyrinth,” a student might learn proportions through a puzzle involving serving food to monsters or learn variables and equations by experimenting with coin combinations on a vending machine puzzle.</p>
<p><img class="imgLeft" src="/sites/default/files/images/vanished_chapters.jpg" border="0" alt="Visual recaps are posted to “Vanished” after the conclusion of each chapter to get new players up to speed." width="230" height="495" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; float: left; margin-top: 4px; margin-right: 12px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-width: 0px;" />Conceptual learning is the mainstay of the games created by the MIT STEP program and TEA. As Kopfler explained, the games are meant to complement teaching, instead of substituting for the teacher. “We don’t expect the students to learn it just from playing the game,” he said. “We don’t design our games to do the teaching. We design our games to structure the learning.” As a curriculum supplement, the games allow the students to explore concepts on their own in a safe environment. Teachers can then refer back to common experiences within the game and apply the concepts during formal instruction. The learning cycle circles back to the student who returns to the game with an enhanced understanding of the game play. </p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #828080; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">“Vanished”</span></p>
<p>There’s a world beyond curriculum-based games though, and this April, the MIT STEP program and the Smithsonian Institute entered that world by releasing “<a href="https://vanished.mit.edu" target="_blank">Vanished</a>.” The game is a first in its genre of “curated games” and meshes real-life experiences with an online environment, creating an augmented reality for its players. During the course of 8 weeks, kids (who sign up for the game online) work together to solve an environmental mystery, an aspect of the game inspired by TV shows like Bones and CSI. “The way that TV shows have combined scientific investigation and entertainment is something we thought about as we designed ‘Vanished,’” said Kopfler. “We wanted to draw on the emotional and design of the way TV shows have portrayed investigations.”</p>
<p>Which does not mean scientific facts are “out of sight, out of mind” in the game. “There is scientific content in our game – you’ll learn about forensic anthropology, ecology, geology – but the goal of the game is not for you to walk about being able to draw a diagram of a volcano or list five major causes of global warming,” explained Caitlin Feeley, project manager of “Vanished.” Instead “Vanished” (which launched April 4, 2011) encourages kids to use the scientific method to solve the mystery. Through a series of tasks (like taking temperatures outside) and clues (like a visit to 1 of the 17 participating museums), kids become personally involved in the very heart of science: investigation and exploration. </p>
<p>As Feeley pointed out, the thrill of investigation and problem solving is often left out of the science classroom. “A lot of the time, kids come away from science classes with the misconception that science is not about investigating but about memorizing a lot of stuff. Or doing an experiment and getting results that you expected to get,” she said. Scot Osterweil, creative director of MIT’s TEA, agreed, “If someone had said, ‘Science is like solving a puzzle,’ and shown how, I might have been more interested in science growing up.”</p>
<p><img class="imgRight" src="/sites/default/files/images/vanished_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Players in “Vanished” are asked to collect real-world information, like temperature data from their neighborhood." width="230" height="165" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; float: right; margin-top: 4px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 12px; border-width: 0px;" />The mystery-solving community in “Vanished” experiences science firsthand, even speaking with scientists during the game’s progression. Volunteer scientists from the Smithsonian Institute interact live with the players to help sort out and strengthen the investigation. But do not expect the scientists to have all the answers. “The goal is not for the kids to play ‘20 Questions’ with [the scientists] until they get the answer. The scientists present themselves as a colleague, a fellow investigator,” explained Feeley. “The kids will come to them with hypotheses and they’ll help the kids develop an understanding of how to investigate these hypotheses.” The real-world scientists help to strengthen the science concepts in the game play. “We want to reaffirm to the kids that what they are doing is science,” said Osterweil.</p>
<p><img class="imgRight" src="/sites/default/files/images/vanished_2.jpg" border="0" alt="“Vanished” players collaborate in online forums to solve a series of mysteries." width="230" height="306" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; float: right; margin-top: 4px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 12px; border-width: 0px;" /></p>
<p>And, if the first week after “Vanished” released is any indication, the more than 3,000 kids who signed up to play the game are psyched for science. In the first 24 hours of the game, there were more than 3,000 posts and the week’s clue, a complex cryptography challenge, was nearly solved. “I showed [the cryptography challenge] to my husband, who has a Ph.D., and he said, ‘No one can solve that code!’” said Feeley. “Well, a group of 12-year-olds did that together. These kids can do very powerful things when they work together and collaborate.”</p>
<h2>The Future</h2>
<p>“Vanished” ends on May 31 when the 8-week long mystery is solved. So, what happens to the game after that? Feeley said the game will not be replayed in its current state. “The exciting thing about ‘Vanished’ is that we’re creating open-source web tools to release, free of charge, to anyone who wants to use them,” explained Feeley. “We hope [‘Vanished’] is proof of concept and encourages other people to create this game for their own needs.” The potential for “Vanished” is even greater when applied to older age groups. “If we do this for an audience that’s older than thirteen, where we don’t get into the issues of Internet security, it becomes a much more wide open space,” said Osterweil. </p>
<p>Another opportunity is to expand the game to be played by families. “One of the things we think in general of educational games is that they have far greater value when the player has opportunities to reflect and discuss what they’re doing with other people, especially if that person is an educator or parent,” explained Osterweil. “To do a game with a whole family, we think, would be very powerful.”</p>
<p>Beyond “Vanished” and augmented reality games, the MIT STEP program and TEA are cooking up a <a href="http://education.mit.edu/projects/ubiquitous-games">new set of biology games</a> played on smart phones. “We’ve done quite a bit on cell phones and smart phones,” said Kopfler. More commercial games are also a potential area of interest. “The fact is that people do learn science from pure entertainment games,” explained Kopfler. In fact, most people learn science from information settings such as museums, zoos, after-school programs, and yes, computer and video games. Games as fun, informal learning makes sense, though Kopfler thinks there’s another reason to use the format for learning: “I don’t think that the primary thing that’s great about games is that they’re fun. It’s not just about saying ‘You win!’ It’s not just about that achievement system. It’s about challenging people in a way that really engages them.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-taxonomy field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/blog-tags/computer-games" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">computer games</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/blog-tags/science-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">science education</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/blog-tags/technology" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">technology</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3"><a href="/blog-tags/featured-article" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Featured Article</a></li></ul></div>Thu, 05 May 2011 14:54:32 +0000host72 at http://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.orghttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/let-games-begin-learning-science-through-gameplay#commentsSummit on Science, Entertainment, and Educationhttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/summit-science-entertainment-and-education
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img class="imgLeft" src="/sites/default/files/images/Summit_30.jpg" border="0" alt="Sean B. Carroll, vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, does a Q&amp;A session with members of the audience." width="230" height="160" />“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten,” Rudyard Kipling once observed. The same could be said for science. Biologist Sean B. Carroll from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute cited the power of storytelling during a daylong <a href="Http://seenas.ning.com" target="_blank">Summit on Science, Entertainment, and Education</a> last Friday, organized by The Science &amp; Entertainment Exchange with funding provided by the <a href="http://www.moore.org/" target="_blank">Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation</a>. The room at The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles was filled with leaders from all three sectors, brainstorming ideas on how best to combine their efforts to transform U.S. science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.</p>
<p>By now the depressing statistics are all too familiar: the United States ranks 25th worldwide in math, 21st in science (behind countries like Estonia and Slovenia), 27th in percentage of college graduates in science and technology, and a pathetic 48th in the quality of K-12 math and science education. However, U.S. students are first in their confidence in their ability at math and science. “The rest of the world is rising and the United States is falling asleep at the wheel,” Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering, told the assembled crowd. Improving the nation’s standing does not just require political will, he emphasized, but also inspiration—and that’s where Hollywood can help, by partnering with scientists and educators to “help us reconnect what we do with what we dream.”</p>
<p>If you drew a Venn diagram for science, entertainment, and education, storytelling is where they would all overlap. As Carroll pointed out, “human thought is structured around stories”; a strong narrative framework presents a structured, coherent argument for whatever information is being presented, and makes it far more likely that people will retain that information. There are thousands of untold stories in the history of science to inspire the entertainment industry, which in turn provide fodder for the education community to use to inspire and motivate students in the classroom.</p>
<p><img class="imgRight" src="/sites/default/files/images/Summit_57.jpg" border="0" alt="From left to right: Brian Greene, Jerry Zucker, Tyler Johnstone, and Miles O'Brien share their thoughts in &quot;A Conversation Among Friends.&quot;" width="230" height="160" />For instance, Roy Chapman Andrews headed a Mongolian exploration back in 1922, accompanied by a famous Hollywood cinematographer named James B. Shackleford. This was no guided safari: Andrews carried both a rifle and a pistol to defend the expedition from local bandits. But he and his team found many dinosaur fossils during their trip, along with the first discovery of dinosaur eggs. That, and Andrews’ colorful swashbuckling tales, landed him on the cover of <em>Time</em> magazine, and may very well have inspired the 1940s B movie serials that led to the creation of fictional swashbuckling archaeologist Indiana Jones. (Andrews apparently hated snakes.)</p>
<p>We also need to convince students that science is both relevant—the age-old “When am I ever going to use this?” question—and creative. So says Tony DeRose of Pixar Animation Studios, who started out as a computer scientist, then taught for several years before ending up in the entertainment industry doing award-winning animation on such hits as <em>The Incredibles</em>, <em>Finding Nemo</em>, and the <em>Toy Story</em> franchise: “So this summit is really all about me!”</p>
<p>DeRose emphasized the importance of bringing creativity back into the classroom: “We need to train students for tomorrow—for technologies that don't yet exist.” Encouraging creative innovation is the objective behind the <a href="http://www.youngmakers.org/" target="_blank">Young Makers program</a>, culminating in the annual Maker Faire, which drew 600 exhibitors and more than 80,000 attendees to the Bay Area in 2010. One year DeRose’s sons built an eight-foot-tall pneumatic fire-breathing dragon named Saphira, a project that required the boys to learn about welding, metalwork, and how to read schematic diagrams, not to mention developing a safety plan and building in an emergency kill switch. That's another pet peeve for DeRose: our education system discourages risk-taking in students: “We teach kids how to avoid risk, when we should be teaching them how to <em>manage</em> risk.”</p>
<p><img class="imgLeft" src="/sites/default/files/images/Summit_70.jpg" border="0" alt="The mind map from the &quot;Technically Speaking&quot; session." width="230" height="161" />“Most people never discover what they're good at,” according to Sir Ken Robinson, and those that do usually have to “recover” from their formal education first. For Robinson, true learning is about combining imagination, creativity, and innovation, and this can best be accomplished by exploring the synergies among disciplines, rather than erecting more walls to keep them separate. “We share the same anxieties, and the same approach to creativity,” Robinson argued. “We need a culture of education,” and to do that, we must “make common course with other fields.”</p>
<p>Award-winning high school science teacher Janet English had the opportunity to bring a team of her students aboard NASA’s vomit comet to conduct science experiments in zero gravity. It’s one thing to memorize the laws of gravity and the Newtonian concept of inertia. It’s quite another to experience it firsthand in a microgravity environment: suddenly, just the tiniest upward force will send you shooting toward the ceiling and you won’t stop or slow down until you hit that ceiling.</p>
<p>English uses this experience to get her students thinking about what we take for granted back on Earth, and how even common activities might change in microgravity. For instance, can you hula-hoop in microgravity? She posed this question to her students, and did the experiment during her stint on the vomit comet. The answer is no, although you do get a very nice temporary facelift. Can a spider spin a web in microgravity? That experiment has also been done, and the answer is a qualified yes—the spider adapts to the new environment within a few days.</p>
<p>So what about the famous light saber duel between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in the <em>Star Wars</em> franchise? English supplied a re-enactment with two toy light sabers, wielded by one of her students playing Vader and <em>TRON: Legacy</em> producer Jeff Silver as a bearded Skywalker. (“<em>Jeff, I am your father.</em>”) The toy sabers make a satisfying smack! on Earth, but in microgravity the minute the sabers touched, “Skywalker” and “Vader” spin in opposite directions in accordance with Newton’s laws.</p>
<p>The process of learning incorporates both play and storytelling, according to Will Wright, a game developer best known for Spore. He insists, “Play is the natural way we interact with the world,” and video games exploit that kind of learning process. Gamers “observe a result, form a hypothesis, test, and discard or accept that model, thereby intuiting the underlying rules of the system.” Not only are the players driving the experience, those players are allowed to fail. They must master one level before advancing to the next. The gaming experience encourages them to experiment, take risks, and try new things.</p>
<p>In short, it’s an “apprenticeship model” that teaches them to think like scientists. To illustrate the importance of the freedom to fail, Wright told of an experiment with a pottery class, where half the students were graded according to the quality of their finished pots, and the other half were graded according to the number of pots they made. In the end, the latter group had more failures, but they also had more high-quality pots than the group that was discouraged from experimenting and taking risks.</p>
<p>Liz Fogel, director of education for Walt Disney Studios, also emphasized learning through play. When designing educational programs for Disney, Fogel focus on four critical elements: (1) it must be child-focused, (2) it must be interdisciplinary, (3) it must be collaborative and involve mentorship in some form, and (4) it must be interactive, fun, and engaging for the students. It’s also imperative to bring in educators from the beginning, rather than at the very end to rubber stamp one’s efforts.</p>
<p>That said, pure “edutainment” is not the answer either, which all too often demonstrates a “failure to engage with the wonder of ideas,” according to Columbia University string theorist Brian Greene. “It’s not just about explosions and confetti and over-saturated colors.”</p>
<p>But you do want to create something that students will be talking about. Producer Jerry Zucker asked whether educators should start being more concerned with “selling” STEM education to their students, because as it stands, “The kids aren't buying it.”</p>
<p><img class="imgRight" src="/sites/default/files/images/Summit_2600.jpg" border="0" alt="Students from El Toro High School, along with their teacher Janet English, catch up with Neil deGrasse Tyson." width="230" height="160" />In the end, the entertainment industry is a business. “You need a spectacular plan that shows some return on investment,” said Vogel. This need not be in the form of profits; promoting the “brand” is a currency all its own. Zucker agreed that “Hollywood feels no sense of obligation; it is not in the business of altruism.” But he thinks it’s eminently possible for Hollywood to work with scientists and educators to create effective teaching tools using storytelling, and turn a profit in the process.</p>
<p>It wasn’t all talks by invited speakers and breakout session conversations. There was a special performance by an a cappella singing sensation <a href="http://www.backbeatsvocal.com/" target="_blank">The BackBeats</a> and impassioned “spoken word” performances by a pair of actor/poets, <a href="http://www.stevenconnell.com/Actor/connell_verse_3_4.html" target="_blank">Steve Connell</a> and <a href="http://www.thesekoueffect.com/live/" target="_blank">Sekou Andrews</a>.</p>
<p>The summit is just the beginning, a means of getting the conversations started, of planting seeds that will give rise to successful collaborations among science, entertainment, and education. As a first step, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is offering a <a href="http://seenas.ning/page/the-grant" target="_blank">$225,000 grant</a> to “establish collaborative partnerships among scientists, entertainment industry professionals, and educators to develop educational products or services that effectively leverage the resources of the entertainment community (including film, television, and video games) to improve educational outcomes in science classrooms.”</p>
<p>Not every proposal submitted will pan out. But as Robinson said, creativity is about doing, and that, in turn, leads to innovation—even though there is also a high risk of failure. Remember the story of the pottery students. So why not take a few risks? One of those efforts could end up making a very real difference. The stakes for our schools, and for future generations, could not be higher.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-taxonomy field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/blog-tags/event-recap" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">event recap</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/blog-tags/science-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">science education</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/blog-tags/jennifer-ouellette" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Jennifer Ouellette</a></li></ul></div>Mon, 07 Feb 2011 07:36:43 +0000host50 at http://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.orghttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/summit-science-entertainment-and-education#commentsScientists Sharing Secrets Onlinehttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/scientists-sharing-secrets-online
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p class="p1">Maybe the success of <em>The Big Bang Theory</em> started a backlash. Because now there seems to be a campaign underway to sell the public on the notion that scientists don’t have to be geeks, nerds, or white men. The latest assault on the stereotype comes from the new PBS online-only series, <em><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/secretlife/"><span class="s1">The Secret Life of Scientists</span></a></em>, the title co-opted from the critically acclaimed ABC Family network show <em>The Secret Life of the American Teenager</em>.</p>
<p class="p2">So far, more than a dozen profiles of scientists have been posted, with the promise of more in a few months. Viewers are entertained by clicking on four brief video segments for each scientist, one of which features answers to 10 questions.</p>
<p class="p2">On screen, the scientists speak passionately about their research and discoveries, but that’s not what the series is really about. Instead, the message is that scientists have more going on in their lives besides their work. They do have other interests. And, they do like to have a good time.</p>
<p class="p2">First up is Neil deGrasse Tyson’s secret. The host of PBS’s long-running series NOVA is an avid collector of neckties. Although the ties have nothing to do with wardrobe coordination, they do have something in common besides being ties. Who knew that Tyson, THE face of science on PBS and <em>The Secret Life</em>’s only familiar face, likes a little whimsy in his life? Sure, he’s personable and all that, but when he talks about an important discovery or how he became interested in science as he does in this series, people listen. The astrophysicist has become sort of an unofficial spokesperson for the science community, aided by his almost regular appearances on the talk show circuit. In fact, “Stewart” was the answer to one his 10 questions, as in “Jon Stewart,” host of Comedy Central’s <em>The Daily Show</em>. His preference for Stewart’s show over that of Comedy Central’s other late nite talk show host, Stephen Colbert, generated a number of comments on the website.</p>
<p class="p2">Several scientists talk about the role music plays in their lives. That’s not particularly surprising, because there’s always been an overlap between the two interests, especially interest in classical music. The series features a bassoonist and an engineer who plays the clarinet. Music as a hobby doesn’t usually put much of a dent in the stereotype, but the confessions of two young scientists are more intriguing.</p>
<p class="p2">Teen astronomer Caroline Moore, the youngest person ever to discover a supernova, likes to sing. No, she doesn’t appear interested in trying out for American Idol, but neither would she be booted from that stage for sounding “pitchy.” Ms. Moore also gives one of most surprising 10-question answers when she identifies Fox News as her favorite news network. Another of her video segments makes it clear why she gave that answer.</p>
<p class="p2">On screen physics student Joe DeGeorge appears determined to convince viewers that scientists are not nerds. He plays guitar and performs in a rock band, but the name of the group, “Harry and the Potters,” doesn’t do much to make his case. When prompted, he composes and sings a song about Nobel laureate Richard Feynman. When was the last time there was a song about a scientist? Probably never.</p>
<p class="p2">Also featured are scientists who are into sports, cooking, dancing, and photography. Just like our friends and neighbors, scientists are shown to be everyday people, although most of us are unlikely to know someone who has set sail across an ocean with just a spouse in tow, or a photographer who specializes in taking pictures of hands and feet.</p>
<p class="p2">Probably the most unusual “secret” is that of biochemist Erika Ebbel who became the first person from MIT to compete for the crown of Miss America. Never having competed in a pageant and egged on by friends, she reluctantly entered a local contest. After not winning, she came back for a second try and ended up being crowned Miss Massachusetts of 2002. In the video, Ebbel defends her pageant experience, claiming it wasn’t a waste of time because “competition…encourages you to improve [and] try harder [and makes you a] a more well-rounded person.” She also demonstrates how to wave correctly, and why it’s important to wave correctly.</p>
<p class="p2">The group represents scientists at various stages of their careers, although none are over 50. They’re exploring the universe, building robots, and studying leeches. Eran Egozy started his own company after graduation and a decade later invented the wildly successful video games "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band".</p>
<p class="p2">In addition to youth, there’s an emphasis on racial and ethnic diversity. Nanoscientist Rich Robinson talks about getting his start in science by being a beneficiary of affirmative action programs. “I think anyone who wants to be a scientist can be a scientist,” he says to the camera. Yes, it’s smart to send out a reminder every once in awhile that scientists don’t have to be geeks, nerds, or white men.</p>
<p class="p2">Fortunately, the movies are now doing their part. In "<a href="http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/2010/05/reconsidering_the_image_of_sci.php"><span class="s1">Reconsidering the Image of Scientists in Film and Television</span></a>,” communications professor and blogger Matt Nisbet makes note of changes that have taken place in Hollywood during the past two decades. Studies show that the image of scientists on both the large and small screen has improved dramatically. They still don’t populate a lot of movies and TV shows, but when they do, “they are almost exclusively shown in a positive light.” Not only that, but research using data collected by the National Science Foundation shows that among the adult population in general, negative stereotypes of scientists are less prevalent than they once were.</p>
<p class="p2">Of course, it’s still a bit early to declare victory, but popular culture seems to be moving in the right direction. <em>The Secret Lives of Scientists</em> is the successful execution of a clever idea. As more profiles of scientists are uploaded to the PBS website, the series should continue to contribute to the intersection of science and entertainment.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-taxonomy field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/blog-tags/science-communication" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">science communication</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/blog-tags/science-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">science education</a></li></ul></div>Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0000host109 at http://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.orghttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/scientists-sharing-secrets-online#commentsThe Science of Storytellinghttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/science-storytelling
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Everyone loves a gripping story, and anything involving family secrets seems to have particular power. The <em>Star Wars</em>series was hugely popular not just for its eye-popping special effects and epic mythology, but also for its tangled familial relationships. Darth Vader is Luke's father? Leia is his sister? It's positively Dickensian in its intricate genealogical scope.</p>
<div>Science has its stories, too, as evidenced by the special story-telling event held during the <a href="http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/" target="_blank">World Science Festival</a> in New York City earlier this month: <em>Matter: Stories of Atoms and Eves</em>, hosted by <a href="http://www.themoth.org/" target="_blank">The Moth</a> performance space. Half the stories told by the six featured scientists -- before a rapt, appreciative audience -- dealt with family history. Of those, Nobel-Prize-winning geneticist (Sir) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Nurse" target="_blank">Paul Nurse</a> of Rockefeller University pretty much stole the show with this charming (and moving) account of how he discovered the truth about his parentage:
<object width="425" height="344" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/B4B6KaaRKT4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B4B6KaaRKT4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></div><p><br /><br />Nurse is remarkably sanguine about this twist to his family's history, regretting only that he never had the chance to talk about his origins with his biological mother before she died. "And then there is the final irony that even though I am a geneticist, my family managed to keep my genetic origins secret from me for over half a century," he writes in the <a href="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2001/nurse-autobio.html" target="_blank">addendum to his Nobel Prize autobiography</a>.</p><div><div>We're sure Luke and Leia could totally relate. Nor is Nurse an anomaly (although he clearly has a knack for narrative): science is filled with these sorts of fascinating untold stories. One of the goals of bringing scientists and Hollywood together is to tap into the power of those untold stories to reach the broadest possible audience, so that they can better appreciate the rich history and diversity of this field -- and its people.</div></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-taxonomy field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/blog-tags/science" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">science of</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/blog-tags/science-communication" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">science communication</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/blog-tags/science-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">science education</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3"><a href="/blog-tags/world-science-festival" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">World Science Festival</a></li></ul></div>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000host181 at http://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.orghttp://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/blog/science-storytelling#comments